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Americans Cut Driving by 100 Billion Miles

Lower gas prices don't seem to be restoring driving habits

December 12, 2008

If gasoline surges to $4 a gallon, motorists will change their behavior. The evidence is in the latest numbers from the U.S. Transportation Department, which reports American motorists put 100 billion fewer miles on their vehicles from November 2007 to October 2008.

The timeline coincides with the period when oil prices began their rapid rise, pulling gasoline prices along with them. But Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said it's worth noting that Americans appear to still be driving less, even though fuel prices have dropped dramatically since August.

"The fact that the trend persists even as gas prices are dropping confirms that America's travel habits are fundamentally changing," she said.

Because people are driving less, fewer people are being killed in traffic accidents. Peters says the number of people killed in traffic crashes is expected to reach a new record low in 2008, with early projections showing an almost 10 percent drop in highway traffic deaths in the first 10 months of this year.

"Every American can be more confident than ever they will arrive at their destination safe and sound," she said.

The Secretary said the new fatality data marks the first time the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is able to project fatality figures prior to the end of the calendar year. Using new electronic data gathering techniques, the Department is working to make projections in near real time to "give safety professionals the data they need to keep motorists safe," she said.

Early estimates show that 31,110 people died on the nation's roads from January through October, compared to 34,502 in 2007 during that same 10-month time period. In addition, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicles miles traveled for the first nine months of 2008 is 1.28, compared to 1.37 for 2007.

"For the second year in a row we are seeing historic lows in deaths on our nation's roads," Peters said. "While we are encouraged by these declines, our work is not nearly complete in making our safe transportation network even safer."

NHTSA annually collects crash statistics from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to produce annual reports on traffic fatality trends. The agency intends to update 2008 estimates regularly as more data becomes available. The final counts for 2008 will be made available in the summer of 2009.

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